First Quilt is Almost Ready for the Wall

Sewing is very relaxing for me and I can sew for hours and it seems like 15 minutes. I continued hand stitching the binding to the back of my first quilt this evening. I can probably finish it in one more sitting. I have no idea how to hang a small quilt on a wall so if anybody can give me any pointers on how to do that, I'd appreciate it very much. Here is the nearly finished quilt with 2.5 sides of the binding completed...
I haven't been talking much about my marathon training. That is because I am getting discouraged. I have been very tired on my runs lately. I had to split a 6 miler into 2 separate runs today. I am planning on doing a 1/2 marathon in May so things need to improve soon. I need the right mix of proteins and carbohydrates and much more water in my diet. If any of you are runners, I'd like to know if you ever get into these zones where you repeatedly hit a wall too early in a run and if you do, how do you deal with that?

On another subject, we are nearing the one year anniversary of my blog! Crazy. One year. Time could slow down and I would not complain for one second. I have been putting some thought into a give away to celebrate this anniversary so stay tuned for more information on that.

What a Ride!

Front row (left to right): Lydia, Me
Second row: Ken

While at Disneyland we rode Space Mountain three times. It was our favorite ride with California Screamin' a close second. I am framing this picture and plan to hang it somewhere in our house because it captures how much fun this vacation was. The week we spent in California was wonderful and I hope to go back again next year.

I worked on a 7x7 scrapbook this evening for Lydia (that I started in the fall). It captures a sprinkling of the fun times and special moments we had together, starting off with her kindergarten graduation going through the summer and ending up with her first day of first grade. I just have some journaling left to do on a handful of pages. I would like to do more of these because Lydia absolutely loves to look at the albums I have made for her.

If things go as planned, I should be a busy crafter tomorrow. It is nearly April and so that means I need to finish my March block of the month and pick up the April Block. I would also like to get started on the baby blanket I mentioned a couple posts back because the baby shower is not far off now. While it was very nice to get away for a vacation, I am looking forward to getting back to my craft projects.

Craft Withdrawal

I am having craft withdrawal!! I must craft soon! I have been putting in a lot of hours at work and more hours working equals less hours crafting unfortunately. Thankfully I have a VERY wonderful husband who keeps up with the laundry and the dishes.

I did get out this past Sunday after church and a much needed massage (ahhhhhh...a gift from that wonderful husband) to pick up this fabric for a baby blanket I am going to make for a friend who is expecting. The blanket is one of the projects in the bend-the-rules Sewing book by Amy Karol which I mentioned a couple posts back.
Lydia and I visited with my grandma today and we were given this bowl made by my aunt. My aunt is a very talented quilter and she has been using her scraps (I think) to make several of these bowls. I love the colors in this one (orange is my favorite color). Very cool bowl isn't it? I don't know how she sews these on her machine (the bowl is thick) and I hope to find out because I would like to make one of these.

Block of the Month - Block 2

I spent the afternoon at the quilt shop. It was so nice to get out of the house for awhile to do some sewing. I finished Block of the Month #2 and when I finished with that I worked on this tote bag. The quilt shop was closing before I could finish but I was able to sneak in another hour this evening at home to finish it up. Lydia wanted to help so I asked her to model it for me. This is my first tote bag. It was easy to make. Thanks to Dawn for the pattern. Now that I know the basics of how to make these, I plan to play around with the pattern and make another with longer handles and a shorter body. This tote will be great for carrying books and craft projects when I am on the go. I try to take advantage of the free time I get like when I am waiting for Lydia while she is in dance class.

Block of the Month - Block 1

Now that the beginning quilting class is over, I signed up for the block of the month. Each month I'll get a new set of material for a block. In 12 months I am supposed to have completed 12 blocks for a twin size quilt. I could do 2 blocks a month and make a queen but I thought a twin would be a good size for when I am lounging on the couch. There were two quilt options; one was primitive colors, the other black with bold brights. I chose the latter. I spent a few hours at the quilt shop this afternoon and I got this done. While I was there I also cut out the fabric I am going to use for a tote bag I am making. The following picture shows the fabrics I'll be using for that. I came home in time for the Packers vs. Seahawks game but the way things are going in the first 4 minutes (Seahawks 14, Packers 0), I wonder if I shouldn't go back to the quilt shop.

Beginners Quilting Class Comes to an End

I sewed all of the binding on my first quilt in class last night. It was the last night of the beginners quilt class I've been taking. The only thing left to do is to hand stitch the binding on the back. The instructor told me to take my time doing that and to enjoy the process. After all of the work I've put into this thing, I sure will!

Today I put about ten more stitches in that Strength cross-stitch pattern I've been working on--that one with the itsy bitsy teensy weensy stitches?! The one I wrote about and started back in September 07?! I could only do about ten stitches because I got nauseous from straining to see where to put the needle. Seriously.

If you do a lot of reading, I recommend checking out Paperback Swap.com. I just learned about it today from Sister Diane. I haven't used it yet myself but I think I will be giving it a try.

Keeping Warm at Christmas Time

We live in Wisconsin and it's definitely winter here right now. We have more snow than I have seen in years. It reminds me of the winters we had when I was a kid. Lydia spent the afternoon today digging tunnels and sledding down the snow piles in the front yard. While doing so, MY fingertips went numb from the COLD while working on my laptop IN THE LIVING ROOM. When my brain finally registered that my fingers were numb and I was shivering I checked the thermostat and discovered the furnace had stopped working. The fireplaces are keeping us toasty until the furnace fixer guy can get here (tomorrow morning hopefully).

Lydia opened the package with the American Girl brush, then the packages with the American Girl outfits, and still was surprised as could be when she opened the box with the American Girl DOLL in it. She named her Erin (my brother's girlfriend, Erin, was with us and may have something to do with that). I think the doll will be well loved.

Erin read my blog post about the sewing machine and so Lydia got the Alex Sew Fun sewing machine for Christmas. Lydia and I already made a purse with it for her doll and we will make many more projects with it. It's so cool! And so is the purse they got me which is one of my favorites on Etsy! Thanks Uncle Matt and Erin.

The scarf I started on September 23rd did not get finished in time for Christmas but I am making progress. I am thinking of snazzing it up with some beads and ribbons. We will see what I can come up with. My new goal is to finish it in time for Lydia to actually be able to use it before the winter is over.
I spent last Saturday at the quilt shop and caught up on my quilt. I learned how to "stitch in the ditch". I am hoping my next post of the quilt will be the finished product! There is just one more class on January 8. I have decided to sign up for the intermediate quilting class which will be with the same group of ladies and I'm also considering a class that meets monthly which will be for smaller projects like bags and table runners. I am going to give quilting a bit more time before I decide if I like it or not. I love the finished projects I see and would really like quilting to grow on me.

For those of you who haven't already, I recommend you Elf Yourself for a good laugh. You have until January 2. This was the extent of our Christmas card this year but it could also be used for best wishes in the new year.

Quilting May Not be My Thing

I have found quilting to be more stressful than enjoyable. The measuring and cutting kind of drives me nuts. It seems you have to be so precise. Then I am always worried about sewing my seams too big because I have had to rip apart and re-stitch more than a few squares. I was nearly in tears at least once because of that. I started this quilt back on October 18 but it seems so long ago. I have two more classes left which will involve putting two borders on this puppy and then I am done. I am not sure if I will ever make another quilt. We'll see. Maybe two is a charm. I will never look at another quilt like I did before actually making one. I now understand all of the work that goes into one of these things.

Quilting Homework Done - Check

We finished Lydia's math homework and then worked on my quilting homework which is due tomorrow. Both were fun. I finished three log cabin squares. They are crooked as heck but will trim down to 6.5 inches and that is what I care about at this point. At least they aren't too small and I don't have to rip them all apart. Yay! Lydia and I are off to the craft room now to work on the cards for the card swap that are also due tomorrow!

Keeping Busy

I had quilt class last night. I finished all of my home work for it! That included ripping apart the four squares I did in the first class and finishing five additional squares. Last night in class I made a nine-patch variation block and I started 3 log cabin blocks. The next class isn't until 11/20 so I have plenty of time to finish up one more 9-patch variation and the 3 log cabins. I have been using my Brother $150 special from many years ago to do my home work and I use a Bernina 240 in the quilting class. Now that I've sewn on a Bernina, I can tell how clunky my Brother machine is. If I keep with this quilting thing and sewing more often, I will get more serious about looking for a Bernina to bring home.

So all was well in my world....until I woke up this morning with a migraine. I thought I had the flu but I'm feeling better already so I think I just got really sick from the headache. I am so relieved to be over the worst of it.

This is the sketch we are using for the card swap I am in this month:
I played around with this and came up with these 2 variations so far...


I have made some progress on the purple scarf I am knitting for Lydia, my first knitting project. I am hoping to finish it before the snow gets here. Also, I think I have all of the prints and supplies ordered that I'll need for the scrapbooking retreat on November 9. I am known to procrastinate when preparing for something like this but I think I will be in pretty good shape as far as being ready for this one.

Autumn Days

I LOVE autumn. Love -- Love -- Love it! We did the pumpkin patch at Alternberg's last weekend, a yearly tradition. Lydia is holding the perfect pumpkin she found for her cousin Laurel.

The pumpkin on the left was designed by Lydia. We baked the pumpkin seeds and Lydia thought they were nummy.

We also took some time to walk around in the woods last weekend at Standing Rocks Park. I love the smell of the damp leaves. We were scoping out the bike trails for when Ken and I get our new mountain bikes.

It was nice to get Scout and Zoe out for a walk too. Scout turned 12 on October 5! (Scout is the black/silver/white Siberian Husky and Zoe is a Samoyed.)


I stayed up til midnight last night working on my cards for the card swap this month. The theme was "masculine". They are due tomorrow and of course I didn't start them til last night. :-) I am really liking this card swap group I am doing. It gets my hands busy with my card supplies and the cool thing is I get 5 different cards back for inspiration. It never hurts to have extra cards on hand either.
I mentioned recently that I wanted to take a beginning quilting class. Well, I started this past Tuesday! In the class I will be learning how to make a quilted wallhanging. It is a sampler quilt, 40.5" x 40.5". We are using the book "Start Quilting with Alex Anderson". The class runs til the week before Christmas. This is what I came home with after the class...

The instructor told me to choose the border fabric first and then use that to pull out three shades of two colors from that piece, as well as four neutrals. I chose this fabric as my border...
I pulled out green from that and chose these three greens...
...and these three purples...
For my four neutrals, I pulled out the gold color...
In the first class I learned how to make a nine-patch block.
I also learned how to make a rail fence block and I made three of them.
Unfortunately(!!) after I was done with these four blocks, I learned they were not 6.5". I sewed my seams a hair to big so I need to rip apart all four blocks and sew them again! I also have to do five more nine-patch blocks and five more rail fence blocks before the next class on the 30th! I am looking forward to it all though. I used a Bernina 240 something or other in the class and sewing on it was like cutting butter. I am hoping to get back on the same machine this Saturday for a few hours to work on my homework.

Lots of crafty things going on this week (and running too)

Last Sunday, Lydia and I participated in the 1 mile kids run/walk for the American Cancer Society. We purchased this flag in memory of my mom who passed away from cancer a couple years ago.

My craft pal and I have been doing many different kinds of crafting this past week. Lydia had some fun with her perler beads and made a snowflake.

I had to special order the fabric I need to do the Strength cross-stitch from MonsterBubbles.com and while I was waiting for it, I practiced up on my cross-stitch with the help of these free Sanrio patterns. Lydia asked me to create the Chococat pattern first so that is what I did. I am thinking of making a little pillow out of him for Lydia's baby doll.


I have started the Strength cross-stitch but the stitches are so dang small! Oh my goodness! I had to buy a magnifying glass. Seriously, I need it. It may take me forever to complete this project. I am thinking about asking the designer from MonsterBubbles how she works so small and if it's ok to miss a stitch here and there. How does one do something like this without going insane after 9 stitches (not even complete x's, just 9 diagonals!?). Her patterns are so cool but dang, the stitches are small!

I taught myself how to crochet a couple years ago. I am by no means good at it but I can make scarves. I have been wanting to try knitting but have had no luck in teaching myself. Well, I bought a children's book on how to knit and finally, last night I was able to cast on and do some garter stitches! You can see below that I am catching on. I'm not doing something right with the last stitch in the row. I was hoping to see my friend Dawn at church today so I could ask her what I am doing wrong. My grandma can help me too. She has a lifetime of experience and has made me and our family so many beautiful sweaters.


I am eager for our local quilt shop to start up some new beginner's quilting classes this fall. I want to learn how to quilt. Also, I am currently planning for a monthly craft club I want to hold at my house. Today I am going to work on a project for a good friend (I will post a picture of the finished project) and I must get started on my cards for the next card swap due this coming Thursday. The theme is "stitches".